CV NEWSFEED // On Monday the Supreme Court released its ruling on Trump v. United States in a 6-3 decision that determined former President Donald Trump has immunity from being prosecuted for actions taken during his presidency related directly to the powers of the office.
“The case guts the federal prosecution” of Trump “for interference in the 2020 election,” CatholicVote reported:
In what analysts are calling one of the most significant rulings in American history, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “under our constitutional structure” a former president is entitled to absolute immunity for exercising his “core constitutional powers.”
In addition, a former president should enjoy “at least presumptive immunity from prosecution” for all other official acts.
Roberts was joined in the majority by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined in part.
The case, which was vacated and remanded, sparked conversation online about conservative Catholic Justice Clarence Thomas, who filed a concurring opinion.
“In the Supreme Court’s monumental decision in former President Trump’s immunity case, one justice questioned whether Special Counsel Jack Smith – at the helm of Trump’s unprecedented prosecution – was constitutionally appointed,” Fox News reported. Thomas’ concurrence argued Smith’s appointment “may violate our constitutional structure.”
On X, Real Clear Investigations Editor Benjamin Weingarten posted a series of quotations from Thomas’ opinion.
“Justice Thomas’ concurrence in Trump v. U.S. is hugely significant. He questions whether Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office is constitutional,” Weingarten reported.
Weingarten continued in a series of tweets that have since drawn the attention of over one million people.
“If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution,” Thomas wrote. “A private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former President.”
Weingarten continued to showcase Thomas’ opinion and called the opinion a “legal missile” launched in the direction of Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland.”
“In this case,” Thomas wrote,
there has been much discussion about ensuring that a President ‘is not above the law.’ But, as the Court explains, the President’s immunity from prosecution for his official acts is the law…
Respecting the protections that the Constitution provides for the Office of the Presidency secures liberty. In that same vein, the Constitution also secures liberty by separating the powers to create and fill offices. And, there are serious questions whether the Attorney General has violated that structure by creating an office of the Special Counsel that has not been established by law. Those questions must be answered before this prosecution can proceed. We must respect the Constitution’s separation of powers in all its forms, else we risk rendering its protection of liberty a parchment guarantee.
Donald Trump Jr, son of the former president and 2024 contender, joined in on the celebration and dubbed the ruling “solid.”
“I’m sure the corrupt prosecutors and DC judge will work overtime to continue their lawfare. It’s all they have left,” the younger Trump wrote.
Various other social media users applauded Thomas as a national treasure and hero.
